


Nymphadora

by woolgathered



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 05:57:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17698925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woolgathered/pseuds/woolgathered





	Nymphadora

Nymphadora “Dora”

Dora is a young (17) human bard. She was raised in an isolated human farm village, the only daughter in a family of goatherds. She was brought up with tales of the earthquakes that drove them into the foothills where they survived with their herds. They kept to themselves and spoke of nothing outside their simple village life. 

As a child she helped her brothers in the mountains with the herd, often running off to explore the wilderness. It was in this way that she stumbled upon a hermit living in one of the many caves. Her initial fear melted as she came to know him as a kind old man living in seclusion for reasons unknown. In her many visits to his cave, he taught her to read and write from the scrolls of love ballads. Her favorite of these told the tale of two lovers who completed dangerous tasks to be together. Coming from a mundane and practical village, she couldn’t imagine such romance, and dreamed that someday she would know true love. Over several years she learned many arts and instruments, becoming an accomplished poet and musician. She learned of other races, magical creatures, and treasure. She learned the history of the land she lived in. And she kept these lessons secret: her family would never allow her to return if they knew. 

She was only 12 when her teacher began to realize that she had magical bardic talent, but he didn’t have endless time to help her hone these gifts. Dora was growing up, and her parents kept her closer to home as they worked to arrange a marriage for her. She was now also receiving instruction at home in feminine matters: dancing and entertaining, painting her face and braiding her wild hair. 

By 15 her parents became serious about finding a suitable match among the goatherds. She managed to sabotage 3 such arrangements, still finding time to steal away and learn from her reclusive teacher. Dora could not imagine an arranged marriage, and knew that she must leave and explore the wide world if she was ever to find the love described in the legend. Still she waited, hoping for each opportunity to see her teacher and learn more about the world outside her village. 

One evening her mother told her there would be no more sabotage; she would be married the next day to a cousin she loathed. She presented her with a chest containing perfumes, face paints, and the finest garments she had ever seen: beautifully made silk costumes meant for her wedding and the wedding night. It took all her strength not to fight with her mother, but instead thank her and project an attitude of acceptance. That night she took the chest’s contents and her lute, scrambling up the path that faded into the mountainous wilderness she knew so well. 

Reaching the cave, she knelt before her teacher and told all. There was no going back. He outfitted her with a pack and supplies, a small dagger, and his own rapier from years gone. He wished they had more time, for she knew little of battle or danger and had few spells that could protect her. As a parting gift he put a small crystal in her hand. The moonlight seemed to make it glow, and she closed her fist around it and held it to her heart. 

Running in the dark, she glanced behind her in flashes until she could no longer see his form in the moonlight. Goodbye, dear teacher. Would she survive in a world she had only heard about in stories? For now, at least, she knew the mountains and wilds. What would happen when she met with other people?

The words of a love song rang in her mind and strengthened her resolve: 

True love will find you in the end  
You'll find out just who was your friend  
Don't be sad, I know you will  
But don't give up until  
True love will find you in the end

This is a promise with a catch  
Only if you're looking can it find you  
'Cause true love is searching too  
But how can it recognize you  
If you don't step out into the light?

Don't be sad I know you will  
Don't give up until  
True love will find you in the end

 

Dora wears a simple natural linen dress, leather shoes and woolen stockings. She has a leather bodice that serves as armor, and leather bracers on her wrists. She carries a backpack with a bedroll and a lute on her back. Her leather belt holds a dagger and a rapier from her teacher, and a small coin purse containing 15GP and the crystal. 

Inside her pack she has a water skin, 5 candles, 5 days rations, and the costumes and adornments (disguise kit) meant for her wedding. 

She is proficient with the lute, the recorder, the tambourine, and castanets.(traditional instruments for a young girl’s wedding dance in her village) She is also a poet and knows many poems and ballads by heart. Because she had never seen a soul outside her village, she is extremely naive and impressionable, especially when it comes to handsome men that resemble her imagined true love. But she has impressive resolve and is determined to wait for and find the love she’s searching for. She knows from the legend that she must be strong and hone her magical gifts in order to overcome the challenges she will face with him someday. 

She has been traveling for 8 months and has learned quickly that a poet is not appreciated nearly so much at a tavern as a dancer. The silken costume she stole only to sell for coin has found another purpose, and she has survived easily as a performer in each town. She thanks her teacher every day for her skill with spells like Sleep and Charm Person, as she refuses to humor any of the men who follow her to her lodging for the evening. She watches the groups that meet in the taverns and leave on daring adventures, but hasn’t yet been bold enough to speak up. Many of them never return...


End file.
